The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
However, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
A loss will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
